It is my pleasure to welcome you to the UBD School of Business and Economics (UBDSBE).

You should feel proud to be affiliated with a university (UBD) which is ranked at 323 in the world QS ranking (2018), making it among the top 1.3 percent of all universities globally. UBD is also ranked 34th in the QS Top 50 Under 50 world rankings announced recently. These are important achievements for a young 33-year old university.

UBDSBE is one of the first faculties created during the establishment of Universiti Brunei Darussalam in 1986. The Faculty has over 30 years of accomplished excellence in education and research within the areas of business, economics, accounting and finance and entrepreneurship. In sustaining this spirit of excellence a wide array of programmes are offered, including Bachelor of Business, Master of Business Administration, Master of Islamic Finance, Master of Management, Master of Logistics, Master of Economics as well as Master by Research, and PhD programmes.

UBDSBE is dedicated in our mission to “to provide quality education and nurture innovative and caring leaders to contribute to the community”. The School strives to continually enhance the quality of teaching and research offered to our students, especially with our aim of becoming one of the leading business schools in the region. We are extremely proud of our over 40 dedicated lecturers and passionate researchers who breathe life and excitement into our modules and pursue scholarly research. Our adjunct staff share their industry experience. Our regular talks by international visitors provide an exposure to developments in the region and beyond. Students have the opportunity to gain wider exposure through Discovery Year (DY) especially, UBD’s exchange programs with some of the best universities around the world. The School is exploring more avenues in the region for students to experience exchange programs, industry exposure and community outreach programme (COP).

Let me also take this opportunity to highlight important initiatives the School has recently taken to further improve the teaching and learning environment and to be at par with the changing market needs for our graduates. It gives me a great pleasure to inform all students that starting January 2019, UBDSBE is introducing Entrepreneurship as a new Bachelor programme. This programme is designed to prepare our graduates equipped with entrepreneurial skills and ready to contribute to the national economic development. UBDSBE is also in the process of AACSB accreditation, a prestigious accreditation of Business Schools around the globe. Our Bachelor of Accounting is already accredited by ACCA and now our students enjoy full 9 papers exemption for ACCA certification. Our programmes (both bachelor and graduate) are continuously revised and upgraded to meet the market requirements.

Our second important priority is to produce high quality research. UBDSBE aims to focus on niche areas of research through research clusters including (1) Islamic Finance and Halal Marketing; (2) Emerging Market Issues; and (3) Accounting and Business Practices. Through these clusters as well as individual staff contributions, the School publishes research in the areas such as Islamic finance and governance, halal marketing and branding, and applied economic issues and challenges in East Asia and ASEAN. The School also promotes collaborative, interdisciplinary, and technology-enabled research within the university and with renowned researchers and institutions around the world. I am pleased to share that UBDSBE organised the first international conference in 2017 and a second conference is planned for August 2019. I must commend the support and assistance we received from students without which such events are difficult to organise. I am also pleased to announce that UBDSBE is launching its own journal, Journal of Business and Economic Analysis (JBEA), the first issue of which is planned for August 2018.

Our alumni are our greatest asset. Their continuous support to the faculty and current students, whether in the form of internships, job opportunities, participation in class as guest lecturers, curriculum development, ideas for research projects, access to data and contacts, and consultancy are highly appreciated. We also look forward to deepening our role within the community through student engagement in various projects and research conducted in partnership with Government, corporate and non-profit sectors.

Finally, I urge all incoming and continuing students to visit UBDSBE website, sbe.ubd.edu.bn. You can read about and hear from our faculty and students, learn about the cores and breadth modules, majors and minors offered by the three programs as well as discovery year, an important segment of our graduate program. It is also very important to know all the academic regulations and graduating requirements.

Professor Ahmed M. Khalid DeanUBD School of Business and EconomicsAugust 2018